Venezuela's latest shortage: gasoline

Battered by an economic crisis, Venezuelans are used to waiting in long lines for scarce goods, but many found themselves queuing Thursday for something the ailing oil giant was supposed to have in spades: gasoline.

Drivers had to wait more than an hour to fill up at many gas stations in Caracas and several other cities after supplies were mysteriously disrupted.

AFP correspondents saw some drivers pushing their vehicles to the pump after running out of fuel while waiting in line.

"There's no reason an oil-producing country should have a gasoline shortage," said irate retiree Jesus Ascanio at a gas station on the capital's east side.

"I've been here for almost an hour from that corner to here. But at least now I'm in the line."

Shortages also hit the western states of Zulia and Tachira, where some gas stations suspended sales.

State oil company PDVSA sought to calm people's nerves, saying it "guarantees the supply of fuel across the country" -- but it offered little explanation for the shortages.

The vice president for sales and supply, Ysmel Serrano, said shipping delays had affected deliveries, without going into details.

A fire at the country's largest refinery on Wednesday may also have played a part, though officials said operations were not affected.

Lawmaker Jose Guerra, an opponent of President Nicolas Maduro, alleged international suppliers were holding back because of unpaid debts from PDVSA.

Guerra said the government was secretly importing 45,000 barrels of gasoline a day to hide the fact that domestic supply was insufficient to cover demand.

Venezuela is home to the world's largest oil reserves. But it mainly pumps an extra-heavy grade of oil that has to be mixed with lighter crude -- imported from abroad in recent years -- in order to be refined.

Maduro and his late predecessor Hugo Chavez -- who have used the country's oil wealth to fund lavish social programs -- have made cheap, abundant gasoline supplies a point of national pride.

Venezuela has the world's cheapest gas: one bolivar per liter, or 14 US cents at the country's highest official exchange rate.